Patently False
Software Freedom Law Show episode 0x0C
Karen and Bradley discuss the intersections of software patents with FLOSS licenses. They give a general overview of how patents generally interact with FLOSS, and then discuss the patent provisions of specific FLOSS licenses.
Running time: 00:46:50.Show Notes
Segment 0 (00:35)
- Bradley suggests that more knowledgeable listeners might want to skip the first segment. (02:22)
- RMS rightly dislikes the term “intellectual property”. He's written about it often. (02:58)
- Karen noted that the USPTO uses term property to describe patents, which Bradley points out isn't actually accurate. (03:10)
- RMS didn't invent, although he did popularize the phrase , “perpetual copyright on the installment plan”. (05:08)
- The USPTO website confirms that the term limits on patents are 20 years. (05:25)
- Bradley mentioned that RSA Data Security, Inc. liberated the RSA a patent a few weeks before it expired. (05:40)
- Bradley and Karen explained what patent trolls are. (08:50)
- The patent section of SFLC's legal guide explains the interactions of FLOSS with the patent system, including covering issues such as what a patent is and what willful infringement is. (10:36)
- Bradley mentioned that Jeremy Allison gave an award reading FATtest Patent Troll to Sam Ramji at the Linux Collaboration Summit, although the only URL we could find documenting this is a identica statement by Bradley himself. (14:25)
Segment 1 (15:08)
- Bradley noted that GPL is a copyright license. This is discussed in detail in the Copyright section of SFLC's legal guide. (16:03)
- GPLv2§6 and GPLv2§7 are the two sections that might interact with patent issues, particularly §7. (20:30)
- Our colleague, Dan Ravicher, has often spoken about the implied patent license GPLv2 grants, including in seminars run by the FSF itself. (21:20)
- Bradley attempted to concisely explain the patent provisions of GPLv3 (mostly in §11). (27:20)
- Bradley mentioned the discussions in the GPLv3 Drafting committees, such as Committee B and Committee C (29:53).
- Ultimately, Bradley took 8 minutes exactly, not counting Karen's 28 second interruption. That's pretty concise, he thinks.
- GPLv3§12 is nearly identical to GPLv2§7. (37:18)
Segment 2 (38:20)
- Bradley explained the patent provisions of the Apache 2.0 license.
- Bradley and Karen discussed SFLC's work against the Blackboard patent. There were news items on SFLC's site when the reexam was filed and when the USPTO ordered the reexam. (42:05)
Send feedback and comments on the oggcast to <oggcast@softwarefreedom.org> or <oggcast@faif.us>. You can keep in touch with the SFLC on our IRC channel, #sflc on irc.freenode.net, and by following SFLC on identi.ca.